Clock



March 9, 1948. G. .1. CUNNENGHAM CLOCK Filed Feb. 15, 1946 Patented Mar. 9, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLOCK George J. Cunningham, Babylon, N. Y. Application February 15, 1946, Serial No. 647,858

This invention relates to clocks and particularly to alarm clocks.

Clocks, and more especially clocks of the cheaper variety, are noisy and this is particularly true of alarm clocks in which the alarm mechanism and bell are enclosed in the clock casing and an opening or openings are provided to let out the sound. Moreover, most clocks of this type have openings in the back for the winding and setting spindles, which cause the ticking of the clock to be audible and particularly noisy.

This invention has for its salient object to provide a clock of the character described with means to muilie or deaden the sound of the clock mechanism but so constructed and arranged that this sound can be released and made audible when desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide sound mufliing or deadening means for a clock so constructed and arranged that this means can be released or opened at will to permit winding or setting of the clock.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following specification taken in connection with the drawings which form a part of this application, and in which Fig. 1 is a rear elevation of a clock, partly broken away and partly in section, illustrating sound deadening means constructed in accordance with the invention and means for releasing said sound deadening means at will or when the alarm is sounded;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the structure shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation taken substantially on line 33 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

In the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated, there is shown a clock ill of the usual standard construction and having the usual clock mechanism housed in the clock casing.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the rear wall of the clock is shown at 50 and if the clock is spring operated the wall 58 will have extending therethrough a winding stem 52, alarm winding stem 53, clock setting spindle 54, and alarm setting spindle 55. These parts and the clock mechanism are constructed in the usual well known manner and further illustration and description thereof is not deemed necessary. The alarm spring winding spindle 53 is rotated in an anticlockwise direction to wind the spring and when the alarm is released this spindle rotates in a clockwise direction, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1. The spindle 53 2 Claims. (CI. 5816) has a handle secured to the outer end thereof comprising a hub 56 and radially disposed fins or vanes 51.

A door or cover 58 is hinged at 59 to the rear wall of the clock and has formed therein an opening .60 which is normally closed by a closure member or louver 6| which is pivotally mounted, as shown at 62. The closure member or louver 6| is automatically opened when the alarm is sounded by mechanism constructed and arranged in the following manner. Door 58 is held closed by a suitable latch 69 and is lined with sound deadening material, as indicated by dot and dash lines.

The rear door 58 has secured to the inner surface thereof a boss 63 in which is mounted a pin 64 upon which is rotatably mounted a hub 65 having radially extending vanes 66 carried thereby. The hub 65 also has secured thereto and extending axially thereof, a resilient socket or clutch member 61 which is so disposed and so dimensioned as to fit and frictionally engage an axially extending bulbous projection or complementary clutch member 68 which is formed on and extends rearwardly of the hub 56. Thus, when the door 58 is closed, the clutch member or socket 61 receives the projection 68 and the hubs 56 and 65 are operatively connected so that when the alarm is released and the alarm winding stem 53 and hub 56 are rotated in a clockwise direction, this rotational movement will be communicated to the hub 65 and the vanes 66 carried thereby.

The vanes 66 are arranged through operative connections, which will now be described, to open the closure member or louver 6| when the alarm is released. This is accomplished in the following manner.

A lever member comprising plates '10 mounted on a fixed pivot H and lever arms 12 and 13 is carried by the door 58, being disposed within the door as shown particularly in Fig. 3. The arm 72 of the lever member. is disposed in the path of movement of the vanes 66 and when the alarm is released the lever member will be swung from the full line position shown in Fig. 1 to the dotted line position. The limits of pivotal movement of the lever member are determined by stops l4 and 15 secured to and projecting from the inner surface of the door 58. The stop 14 determines the initial or door closing position of the lever and the stop 15 determines the position of the lever in its closure opening position.

The lever arm 13 has an opening therethrough and through this opening extends the upper end of a rod 16, the outer end of the rod having a ball or projection 17 formed thereon. The lower end of the rod 16 is pivoted at 18 to the closure member or louver 6|. It will be obvious from the showing in Fig. 1 that as the lever member is swung by the operation of one of the vanes 66 to the dotted line position, the rod 16 will be raised, thus opening the closure member, as shown in dottedlines in Fig. 2.

The closure member is automatically retained in open or closed position by means of aspring 80 which is connected to a fixed stop 8| and also to a link 82, the other end of the link 82 having an end 83 disposed at right angles to the link 82 and extending through a'slot 84. formed in the portion 10 of the lever. The right'angle projecting portion '83 preferably hasmounted thereon ,a

roller which is disposed in the slot. It will be.

noted that the link 82 will swing from a position at the right of the pivot 1|, viewing Fig. 1, to a position at the left of this pivot when the lever isswung from the full line to the dotted line position and thus the roller on the right angle projection .83 will move from one end of the slot 84 to the other end thereof.

.After the closure. member 61 has been opened in the manner described, the lever ill can be manually reset by openingthe door 58.

It will be understood that in the embodiment of the invention illustrated and described closure means have been provided for-closing an opening or openings in a clock casing through which the noise incidental to the operation of the clock mechanism escapes. Furthermore, this closure means is automatically operated to permit the sound of the alarm to be released from the casing when the alarm mechanism is operated.

Although one specific embodiment of the invention has been particularly shown and described it will be understood that the invention is capable 4 of modification and that changes in the construction and in the arrangement of the various cooperating parts may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, as expressed in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. Clock mechanism comprising a, casing, a door hinged to said casing, alarm mechanism including .a winding stem carried by said casing, an opening in said door, a closure member for said opening, means carried by the door and including resilient means movable into operative engagement with the winding stem and adapted to grip the stem when the door is closed on the casing ior operating said closure member.

2. Clock mechanism comprising a clock casing, alarm mechanism including a winding stem, said clock casing including a hinged sound deadening door enclosing the back of the casing, said door having an opening a closure for said opening, and means for opening said closure including a resillent clutch member and closure operating mechanism carried by the door, said clutch'being movable into clutchingposition on the winding stem when the door is closed;

GEORGE J. CUNNTN REFERENCES GITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date l,.9.0 ,2 Wald im Ma 2, 3 1,907,283 Waldheim May2, 1933 1,907,310 Waldheim May 2, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Num er C ntry ate 569,413 Germany May 8, 1932 

